Gaara vs. Meidashi Tsuyakumo
Gaara vs. Meidashi Tsuyakumo is a battle that takes place during the 2007 Mid-Year Chunin Selection Exams. It is a fight between Hidden Sand genin Gaara and Hidden Waterfall genin Meidashi Tsuyakumo Prelude The remaining candidates from the Second Exam must participate in one-on-one battles to determine who will move on to the Third Exam. The ninth match selects Gaara to fight Meidashi Tsuyakumo. Naruto is shocked to see that Gaara, who is apparently the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, is participating in the Chunin Exams again. Gaara's brother Kankuro explains that Gaara was only named temporary Kazekage. He states that this is so the elders of the Hidden Sand have time to select a permanent candidate, but also they intend to set Gaara up as bait so that someone from another village will assassinate him. Kankuro states that this was unsuccessful, as no one has made an attempt on Gaara's life, as his reputation is known throughout the Shinobi World. Meanwhile, in the arena, Meidashi addresses Gaara, referring to him by his moniker, "Gaara of the Desert". Gaara confirms this, and Meidashi states that he has heard stories about him. Meidashi states that he knew he would be the one to defeat Gaara and he introduces himself as "Meidashi of the Ocean". Battle Meidashi immediately fires a wave of water at Gaara, who blocks it with a wall of sand. The water wets down the sand, rendering it ineffective as a weapon, and Meidashi tells him that his jutsu works the same way as Gaara's. Gaara counters him, stating that while under normal circumstances his jutsu would win against a sand technique, but he then expels the water from his sand, making it once again battle-ready. Meidashi states that this may be harder than he thought, and the two combatants fire their respective projectiles at each other. Sand and water meet in midair, and Gaara's jutsu wins out to attack Meidashi directly. Meidashi tells Gaara the difference between their jutsu, being that Meidashi can always make more, and he then conjures more water to form a wall against the sand. More water then flies directly at Gaara, who evades the assault and brings his sand back to him, making a cloud to support him in the air while the rest floats in the air around him. Meidashi then attacks Gaara with all of his water at once. Gaara evades the attack for a second time, and he then fires a Sand Shuriken down at Meidashi. Meidashi blocks the attack and returns fire, but Gaara puts up an equally effective defense, and the two initiate a fierce clash against each other. After a powerful skirmish, Gaara eventually hits Meidashi with all of his sand, apparently having won the match. However, when the sand clears, Meidashi is gone. Meidashi surprise-attacks Gaara, knocking him down to the ground while Meidashi lands nearby. Gaara wastes no time in fighting back, trapping Meidashi's feet with sand and leaving him open for attack. Gaara encases Meidashi in a Sand Coffin, and when the sand-user follows up with Sand Burial, Meidashi turns into water, completely evading the technique. He then attacks Gaara again, and when Gaara successfully fends off the attack, Meidashi fires a Water Shuriken technique at him. Gaara blocks the attack and fires Sand Shuriken in turn, and the two continue fighting each other, both at a fierce stalemate. Gaara eventually manages to get the better of Meidashi, hitting him hard with his sand and wounding him. Gaara then asks Meidashi why he doesn't surrender, and Meidashi says he wants to prove that he will be the one to defeat Gaara. Meidashi then manages to get around Gaara's defense and deal him a serious blow, but Gaara has resorted to his Sand Armor technique as his last resort defense. His armor having successfully absorbed the attack, Gaara rises back to his feet to face Meidashi again. He quickly catches his opponent with his sand, using Sand Burial once again. However, Meidashi has summoned an immense amount of water to call to his defense, absorbing the impact of the Sand Burial as well as destroying Gaara's Sand Coffin. Having fully escaped Gaara's sand, Meidashi taps into his full power, bringing up all of his water into a tsunami to send down on top of Gaara. As the tsunami comes down on top of him, Gaara utilizes his Sand Cocoon to defend himself, but all of the water wetting down the sand quickly breaks down the defense. Gaara fires more Sand Shuriken up at Meidashi, who easily blocks it. Having turned the arena floor into a large pool of raging water, Meidashi attacks Gaara from all sides, and after a couple of successful attempts at counteracting the water, Meidashi eventually manages to grab him with the water, engulfing him completely before throwing him down into the lake below. Gaara is thrown around by all of the water currents, and as Meidashi shows him no mercy, Gaara begins to transform into his Shukaku mode. Gaara comes out of the water, half is body having taken the form of the demon inside of him, leaving Meidashi too shocked to defend himself. Gaara slams his enhanced arm into Meidashi, driving him through the air and smashing him into a wall, and Gaara drops back down while Meidashi is stuck. Gaara lands on the lake, and his transformation reverts back to sand that floats in the air around him. Gaara then uses the Ninja Art: Evaporation Jutsu to clear the arena of all of Meidashi's water. This move having been played, Gaara is now at an overwhelming advantage against Meidashi. Gaara asks the Waterfall ninja if he still thinks he can win, but Meidashi continues to fight. As Gaara knocks away everything Meidashi can bring to bear, Kankuro comments that Gaara has reverted back to his old ways, that he is now just toying with Meidashi. The two continue to clash, with Meidashi making no forward progress, and he eventually summons water around him to act as a shield while he makes a direct charge. Meidashi then utilizes some of his water as a melee weapon, and he rams it into Gaara's defense, causing water to explode on impact and summoning enough force to blow a hole in the sand wall. Meidashi then turns into water to slip past Gaara's sand defense, and he he punches Gaara with enough force to knock him off his sand cloud and down to the ground. Gaara repairs the damage dealt to his Sand Armor, and he then comes back into the air to fight Meidashi once again. The two initiate a short skirmish, and just when Gaara appears to have the upper hand, Meidashi turns into a Water Clone and blindsides him. Meidashi and Gaara are now on the arena floor, and Meidashi conjures up a mass of water to finish Gaara. He tells the Sand shinobi that if he thinks the sand he currently wields is enough to beat him, that he should think again. Gaara retaliates, activating his Sand Tsunami jutsu and hitting Meidashi with everything. Buried in sand, Meidashi is helpless as Gaara catches him in a final Sand Coffin. Meidashi pleads with him, asking to come to a compromise, but Gaara doesn't respond. He uses his Sand Burial technique, but as opposed to killing Meidashi, he merely fractures several bones and renders him unconscious. With this, Gaara is declared the winner. Aftermath Gaara returns to the stands while Meidashi is taken to the medical ward. In spite of the tough fight that Meidashi brought to bear, Gaara's reputation still stands. Throughout the battle, Gaara was never once injured, leaving Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha as the only two to have done so. Category:Battle